Missing teen found shot to death in Edgewater neighbor's house, police say

Monday

Jan 27, 2014 at 11:49 AMJan 27, 2014 at 10:15 PM

A boy who ran away from his Edgewater home on Saturday was discovered shot to death the following day in the ransacked residence of a neighbor, Edgewater Police Chief Dave Arcieri said.

By Lyda Longalyda.longa@news-jrnl.com

A boy who ran away from his Edgewater home on Saturday was discovered shot to death the following day in the ransacked residence of a neighbor, Edgewater Police Chief Dave Arcieri said.The gunshot to the 16-year-old — who vanished from his house on Wildwood Drive — appeared to be self-inflicted, Arcieri said. The chief also said the house where the teen was found, two doors from where he lived, has no connection to the youngster or his family.Investigators found the teen’s body inside the home of Debra Lynn Cole on Wildwood Drive in the Wildwood subdivision on Sunday afternoon. Initially, police had entered the house after Cole arrived there Sunday and saw that a part of her home had been ransacked. She did not go into any of the other rooms and instead left her residence and called 9-1-1, police said.When officers went inside to check Cole’s house, they found the boy’s body, Arcieri said. Police have not released the teen’s name.“It appears that he shot himself but this is an ongoing investigation,” Arcieri said.The youngster’s family lives two houses from Cole’s residence, but Arcieri said the boy and his family have no ties to Cole.“He had been missing since Jan. 25,” Arcieri said referring to the teenager.Cole could not be reached Monday.